Fate
by Nikkita Edwards
Summary: It's strange how fate can link you with another person. It's almost like a pinky swear you never made. Welcome to Adam's rose garden. Once in your hand that rose will control your fate. Choose wisely.
1. Chapter 1

Here is my next story hope you enjoy it :) It does involve a little Chinese/Western religion mix and some flower knowledge that i do not have so feel free to correct any mistakes.

* * *

Gasps of simultaneous satisfaction erupted from the mouths of the four young girls who sank into the public baths together. Steam swirled in and out of the space between them caressing their sore muscles and easing the stress through their very pores.

"It's amazing how water can still feel so therapeutic even after a S-ranker in the Land of Water." Sakura sighed out leaning her head back on the tubs borders.

The girls chuckled slightly and fell back into their silent enjoyment. Temari who was in town for various diplomatic duties sunk in the deepest.

"Yea? Try making diplomatic agreements with Shikamaru about things he thinks are troublesome, he even had the audacity to fall asleep during a conversation with me and the elders!" Temari said clutching her fists tight. "I'd like to wake him up with a fist deep in hi-" Temari started but stopped when Hinata squealed softly. The other girls turned to her.

Sakura opened her eyes to find Hinata covering herself the same way she always had.

"Hinata-chan, you don't always have to try and hide yourself, we're all women here and not to mention great friends, don't be ashamed." Sakura told her with a smile. Hinata moved her hands aside and to the other women's surprise her breasts floated up to the surface and greeted them with a splash. Sakura and Ino's jaws dropped. Hinata blushed much deeper than she had been and continued to cover herself.

"I-I can't stop them f-from floating away.." She stuttered out in complete distress. Temari laughed loudly along with Ino as Sakura stared at the huge mounds attached to Hinata's chest and then looked down at her own sadly, cupping them softly under the water. Ino laughed even harder drawing Sakura's attention away from her lack of chest.

"Don't worry forehead, maybe when you grow up you can have big girl breasts like the rest of us." She said mocking Sakura's cupping motion. Sakura stood suddenly.

"We? As if Pig! If anyone should brag it's Hinata! Definitely not you! You almost have as much as me!" Sakura yelled pointing at her Hinata sunk under the water.

"Hell no Billboard brow! My breasts are beautifully sized, not overly ample and not Billboard flat either." She said bringing the back of her hand to her mouth to chortle mockingly. Sakura lunged at the laughing girl and the splashing and yelling commenced as Temari and Hinata watched quietly from the corner of the bath.

"You take that back you flat pig!"

"Your just as flat as your forhead billboard!"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"It makes perfect sense!"

The door slid open quietly and in stepped a young woman clutching a beautiful red rose.

As beautiful as the flower was pressed against the small girl's firm tanned skin, it was peculiar in almost every way.

She walked to the girls glancing at the flower occasionally almost as if it were a deity who might spring from slumber at any moment. She slid into the water beside the two quiet girls.

"T-TenTen-san, it is nice to see you, I-I'm quite relieved you could make it." Hinata offered with a shy smile. Temari eyed her flower.

"TenTen why'd you bring a rose to the public bath? Actually, why do you have a rose at all?" She asked again watching the girl hold the rose dearly.

"A man let me pick it earlier when I was on my way here." TenTen said quietly watching the rose.

Ino and Sakura quieted immediately to squeeze up tight into TenTen's space desperate to know every little detail.

"A man gave you roses!?" Sakura asked.

"How romantic! What did you say?" Ino asked.

"Are you dating him now?" Sakura asked again pushing Ino from in front of her.

Ino pushed back. "What does he look like!?" Ino asked again. Sakura and Ino were now palm to palm and forehead to billboard. TenTen glared softly at the girl's idiocy.

"Shut up." The girls sat back eager to hear the details and TenTen sighed. "I had just bumped into Neji, who passed your message about the bath house on to me." She said finally looking up from the rose. "After walking about half distance I looked up and found a little old man was standing before me. He took my hand very gently and he led me to this more than immense garden of roses hidden in the fields further towards the village's circumference. He walked me though it explaining the garden to me and he stopped dead in the middle, dropped my hand and told me to find that which blooms only for me, and pick it. I took a look around still a little confused and defensive but he only smiled patiently and told me the rose that I pick will represent the bond between my soul mate and the bond we share. I wasn't too convinced but I searched rather diligently anyway." She said pausing to show the girls the rose she had chosen.

"He warned that roses could false bloom representing past, future or present bonds of any kind, but listening to your heart should lead you away." She said again.

"However if the wrong rose was chosen, the flower will close upon picking, the one linked to your true soul mate will wither and your fate would be intertwined in some way with the owner of the rose I would pick. This single rose was the only one that bloomed the brightest for me and the only one of a huge bundle of them that bloomed. I nearly walked passed it it being so small. It just felt right so I picked it. In two days , I am supposed to 'begin experiencing the depth of our bond' was what he told me. I'm sort of scared though, I'm never quite good at guessing nor luck, I could have ended up with someone crazy. I don't know what to do." She trailed off. The other girls remained quiet momentarily before Ino stood quickly to leave the bath.

"Well it's obvious that first you're going to take us there so that we can investigate it." She said pulling her towel on.

"As if pig, you just want to find a soul mate. You don't care about TenTen's fears at all." Sakura said strutting past her. Ino steamed storming after her throwing foolish insults at her back and they began to bicker in the dressing rooms. Hinata took the flower from TenTen and smiled as she Temari and TenTen rose together.

"I-If this is t-the flower you chose, w-with all of your soul, I-Im sure you c-could not have picked incorrectly." She said softly returning the rose. She joined Ino and Sakura in the dressing room to change and Temari followed quickly to break the idiot pair apart. TenTen gave her rose one last glance before following the other girls into the dressing room.

* * *

The five girls walked along behind TenTen as she lead them to the mysterious Garden.

"Yuè Xià Lǎo" TenTen told the girls as they waited in silence for her to continue. "The man told me he happened upon this garden and the deity itself descended upon him bestowing upon him the title of 'Adam' the Garden's keeper. Originally Yuè Xià Lǎo had planted two red roses for the first woman and the first man. The roses themselves were connected by their thorny roots. But the two humans lost one another and to help them find their way back, Yuèlǎo took the petals from the roses and made them into a fine red string attaching them to each person's pinky and allowing them to find each other." She finished. Ino clutched her hands to her face sniffling.

"That's so romantic!" Ino waled. Sakura nodded her head, her eyes almost leaking tears as well. Hinata smiled and Temari remained quiet.

"He told me I would know in two days if my rose was the one. I can't help but count the hours as they pass waiting for something to happen, for it to wilt, or disappear or my life to end, and this is already the end of the first day." She asked clutching the rose to her chest. The other girls watched her silently.

"Why don't you go back and ask him if any roses wilted when you left?" Ino said. TenTen shook her head.

"He was not there when I returned a few minutes later." TenTen answered.

Sakura pushed her fist up walking a little faster but not fast enough to pass where ever it was they were going. "We'll pick our roses too and that way maybe you can feel a bit better knowing you're not alone." Sakura offered.

She nodded with a saddened smile as the girls continued to the garden.

The moon lit the way for the five girls with TenTen up in front. The girls stood before the endless garden in awe. TenTen stepped into it slowly almost scared to disturb the beauty.

"'Be fooled not by their beauty, nor choose not as a duty, fate leads the way, in two days time, the fates intertwine.'" TenTen recited. "Do not fall for any false blooms or your fate could be ruined." She said in a quiet whisper watching each girl search nervously.

"He said there are over nine hundred thousand roses in this garden each connected to the life of a Konoha man or woman. Each rose that is picked releases a series of events that triggers the quickest path to your soul mate." TenTen said in a hushed whisper, continuing to walk. No other roses would bloom for her but she didn't even notice, she continued to observe her own rose.

Sakura stared at a deep almost black red rose that stood proudly with thorns sharper than any other, and petals like silk with a fragrance that almost begged her to pick it. Was this what TenTen meant? Was this rose calling to her?

TenTen yanked Sakura away from the rose and it closed up again. Sakura only stared at the closed rose drawing near again but it did not bloom.

"That was a false bloom. Sakura you need to search with your heart not your memories." TenTen said knowing full well who fueled Sakura to chase such a dark and evil rose.

Her eyes set on a white rose stained with a beautiful almost blood red. It was the only white rose she'd seen for miles. Her body trembled slightly at the sight of it and it bloomed quickly and beautifully before her. She reached out and could have sworn the rose leaned out to her as well. She picked it smelling it and clutching it close to herself. A warmth spread through her body and her breath caught in her chest as she pulled the rose away to gaze at it again. It had sharp thorns that seemed almost deadly, however they left no injuries on her, in actuality being quite dull. She looked around to make sure nothing else nearby wilted and sighed when nothing did.

Ino was in a panic as a whole bush of roses bloomed for her. "What the hell how do i know which one is the right one damnit?!" She waited and slowly a few of the roses began to close. Three roses remained but one caught Ino's eye as it wasn't even truely a flower. She picked it up furrowing her eyebrows.

"Why is a fake flower out here?!" She screamed in frustration. Still it bloomed brightly and the others had closed when she looked back.

TenTen called the girls over noting they had all found a rose rather quickly.

Before TenTen could say another word, a light switched on further down in the garden and the girls sprinted towards the exit. They sprinted miles before stopping in front of Ino's flower shop out of breath and clutching their flowers for dear life.

"Come inside, I can look for some meanings or something in my mom's arrangement catalogs." Ino said finally regaining her breath. The girls filed in one by one closing the door behind them and sitting quietly on a few living room chairs in Ino's house. She pulled out some books and sat alongside them.

"So obviously the meaning or symbol a rose holds is Love, but a white rose can mean Purity, Innocence, Silence, Secrecy, Reverence, Humility, Youthfulness,  
"I am worthy of you", Heavenly. And as far as I know, your lover boy can't be a Shinobi if he's supposedly 'pure'." Ino informed pointing at Sakura.

"Didn't tell us a damn thing Ino!." Temari said twirling the flower in her hand. "Besides this shitty flower probably didn't even bloom for me! It opened but the stupid thing sagged and wilted and the petals just went where ever they wanted, what kinda man does this thing represent!" She argued. She continued muttering unsatisfied profanities to herself.

"Love…" Hinata whispered hopefully. Her rose was smaller than the rest, she nearly missed it, but it grew straight and tall even though the others obviously blocked it's sunlight. Sakura and Ino argued over who's flower was more likely to get them someone attractive.

A few hours passed and the girls were out cold tired from the days events. TenTen however stayed up watching her rose full and bloomed.

"I want to meet you soon." She whispered feeling her hand slide into her lap and her head sink more comfortably into her pillow before she joined the other girls in slumber.

* * *

TenTen sighed as she trudged along the dirt paths towards the giant center of the village, the Hokage tower. The sun only peeked above the horizon as she sighed again. Shizune came knocking at her door at an ungodly time in the morning summoning her and her team to Tsunade's office. She clutched at her pouch she'd kept her bloom in for safe keeping.

She jogged the rest of the way as she drew back into her thoughts. The flower weighed heavily in her pouch although weighing nothing.

She couldn't help but wonder if it was still inside, was it wilting? What would happen if this mission went passed the two day mark? In fact this was already the second day was it not? What would happen?

She skidded to a halt before the gate to the Hokage tower. Gathering her breath she entered the building begging the gods to postpone this mission, but as she stepped into the office she realized such miracles would not happen.

"Goodmorning Team two. Late last night a report was made concerning a large group of shinobi bearing the Uzushiogakure symbol on their protectors. This village is undoubtedly our ally unfortunately it was destroyed many years ago in the Shinobi wars. These men are suspected to be imposters. I want these men captured for interrogation." Tsunade said swiftly turning her chair towards the windows behind her.

"This is a very important mission, these men true to their clan or not cannot be left to roam, and most importantly, this mission MUST NOT reach Uzumaki Naruto's ears." She said slamming on the desk as she turned.

"I cant..." TenTen said clutching her pouch.

'..._in two days the fates intertwine._' She shook the thought from her head as Tsunade turned to her a stern look sobering her look.

"Excuse me TenTen?" She asked harshly. TenTen flinched but did not say a word. Neji turned to her an eyebrow raised as he watched her hand clutch her pouch desperately.

"You can and you will proceed with your assigned mission TenTen." Tsunade spat out. "The contents of this mission are the very foundation of our village and it's bonds. The very seal you wear on your shinobi gear is a symbol of the mutual respect and friendship we share with this village, destroyed or not." She hissed out between her teeth.

"Hokage-sama, with all due respect if TenTen cannot go, Gai, Lee and myself can handle it on our own." Neji offered up. Lee and Gai nodded in agreement.

"She will go. That is final." Tsunade ordered before sitting back down and returning to her paperwork. TenTen cursed inaudiably as she walked out with her teammates.

"What was that TenTen?" Neji asked turning her not quite so gently to face him. She flinched at the slight anger that distorted his face.

"Nothing Neji, I...nothing I thought I had something to finish but it can be put on pause for now." She responded looking away. Neji released her arm and stared into the face of her obvious lie. However he pressed no further.

"We meet at 1700 hours at the gates. Do not be tardy or you will run 200 laps with Lee and myself into the sunset!" Gai chanted out as his students parted ways to pack.

A few hours passed and all four members were present under the setting sun at the gates of their village.

"Alright with everyone present we can begin." Gai shouted pumping his fist into the air. TenTen only sweat dropped as Neji rolled his eyes. They paroled the perimeter of the village slowly Neji scanning for any shinobi chakra presence Lee and Gai searching the shrubbery for human life using their speed and TenTen lingering in the back still clutching at her pouch.

Neji only shook his head at her reluctance to perform and continued his part. No one was within Neji's eye range and Gai and Lee turned up nothing. They set up camp by the shelter of a few trees as TenTen set up various traps around their camp to alert them of any presence as they slept. As she dusted her hands from setting the last trap Neji stopped behind her.

"Give me your pouch TenTen." Neji said. TenTen jumped turning to him.

"W-What why?" She begged. He sighed.

"If you are going to pose a threat to this mission or otherwise continue to not perform I have to at least know why." He said holding his hand out. She shook her head.

"Neji, you wouldn't believe me even if I told you, even if I showed you!" She whispered out

"TenTe-" She heard before her eyes began to droop. She knees shook beneath her and her body became limp.

"Neji..." She whispered out before she hit the ground.

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lol apparently ive got one hell of a thing for cliche cliffies XD

And there you have it this was just a boring little background chapter I sware it will get more interesting! :) R&E&R!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of my latest story. thank you very much to all my reviewers :) and here we go :D

* * *

_"Neji, you wouldn't believe me even if I told you, even if I showed you!" She whispered out_

_"TenTe-" She heard before her eyes began to droop. She knees shook beneath her and her body became limp._

_"Neji..." She whispered out before she hit the ground._

* * *

"TenTen!" she heard a feminine voice call out. She stirred gently at first her eyes slowly blinking open to find herself on a battlefield. She sat up quickly finding the men they were sent after attacking her teammates.

"TenTen!" the woman's voice called out again. She spun around to find a man running towards her with several kunai in his hands. She moved quickly spinning on her hands to kick the man away before jumping to her feet. She assumed her fighting position whipping her scrolls out to blast her opponents away with her rainstorm of various weaponry.

"Jūken!" The feminine voice called out. TenTen's eyebrows furrowed. When did a female Hyuuga arrive? She had no time to investigate as the men came from any and all directions weapons and explosives out and ready to bring her harm.

Fierce taijutsu and weaponry battles broke out TenTen feeling a bit clumsy with her movements. It was as if she had grown in her sleep and was unaccustomed to her new body. She cursed under her breath dodging as two more men came flailing weapons her way.

A few hours passed and the men were successfully beaten, tied and ready to be reported to Tsunade.

TenTen sighed in relief. "What the hell was that TenTen!" She heard the woman from earlier say.

"That's right! who are you?" She asked turning to face the woman. She was beautiful, long brown hair tied at the bottom, cream colored robes sitting snugly on her curvaceous body and ample breasts and topped off with angry pale white eyes and peered deep inside of her.

"eh...Neji?" She asked cautiously. The woman sighed crossing her arms over her chest.

"Exactly. I want to know what you did." She responded.

"Ehhh? Me? Why do I automatically have something to do with it?" She yelled out. She calmed instantly and clutched at her throat.

"Is that me speaking..." She said softly. Her voice was deep and rather masculine. She sped over to the nearest reflective surface and found a boy staring back at her, long brown hair tied back into one pony tail, bright brown eyes, a blue Chinese shirt with black baggy Chinese pants.

"AHHHHH! What the hell is going on!" She screamed out touching her face and body finding something extra hanging between her legs. She blushed at the feel of it. She could only scream again.

Neji sighed in irritation. "Yes you're a man, and I am a woman. Now what exactly did you do to cause this predicament. I trust the fact that neither Gai nor Lee have suffered any changes, and your strange behavior before the start of this mission makes for enough evidence to put you as the prime source of this mayhem." Neji said quietly sitting before TenTen.

"What did you do TenTen." He asked again impatience evident, when she said nothing.

"You wouldn't believe me!" TenTen whispered out. Neji sighed again.

"TenTen I woke up this morning a man, now I am anatomically a woman. I don't believe there is much I will not believe at the moment." He said sighing again.

"I picked this flower from 'Adams' flower garden. It was supposed to show me the bond between my fated partner in one way or another. Shit." She said tears starting to leak into her eyes.

"Don't cry it isn't very manly." Neji said sighing in surrender. "Once we return to the village we can discuss this occurrence with the Hokage who may have a cure of some sort." Neji said.

"For now, let's gather these men and return them to the village for their interrogation." Neji finished standing again and picking two of the men up and pushing them to walk.

TenTen, Gai, and Lee did the same.

* * *

Tsunade sat in her office glaring daggers at the paperwork that piled up on her desk. Her sake bottle was empty and her patience was gone.

"I cannot do anymore paperwork!" She cried out flipping the table so all of the papers scattered about the room in messy piles.

"Shizune! I quit! I can't take it anymore! I need some sake!" Tsunade bellowed out throwing a sad tantrum by the desk. Tsunade's door slammed open and Hinata ran inside screaming.

"Tsunade-baa-chan! Something really weird is happening!" She cried out. Naruto stepped in quietly after her.

"N-naruto-kun c-calm down!" he told Hintata. Shizune and Tsunade could only stare at the offset shinobi. They continued their fits of panic as both tried to speak at the same time.

"Sit down." Tsunade said interrupting the now noisy Hinata and quite red faced Naruto.

"Tsunade-baa-chan! I went to shower this morning and I woke up with boobs, really really big boobs! And my little buddy was gone! I woke up as Hinata!" Hinata cried out noisily.

"B-Bath?! B-Bo-Boo...b..s" Naruto squeaked out. "O-Oh no...he saw me, he saw everything!" he muttered wearily. Tsunade only looked over to Shizune who shrugged. Tsunade turned back to the two to speak but was interrupted when a knock on the door was heard.

"Urgh. Enter!" She bellowed. In walked the two green beasts and a very beautiful young man and woman.

Tsunade sighed at the strangers' entrance.

"Tsunade-sama. The intruders have been captured and bound for interrogation. However something strange occurred just before we caught them. The two of us had our genders reversed." The woman spoke quickly and formally. Tsunade sighed letting her eyes close and her eye brows furrow.

"Just what the hell is going on today?" Tsunade bellowed. "Lee! Gai! Take the men to the torture and interrogation room." She looked to the four troubled shinobi.

"You four, I don't know what it is you did, or how, but i do not have any way to treat whatever it is that is wrong with you. You will be taken off mission availability until this problem has been solved." She sighed out in exasperation.

"Dismissed." She said turning to Shizune. "Now I need four bottles of Sake and some damn Genin to pick this mess up!" She cried out storming from the room. Shizune furrowed her eye brows in worry and hustled off behind Tsunade. Sakura who'd just arrived walked into the office nearly falling to the ground at the mess.

* * *

TenTen and Neji walked the streets of the village alongside Hinata who walked with her hands resting behind her head and Naruto who walked his hands held in front of him, a constant blush on his face. The group got plenty of odd stares and quite a few confused people asking questions.

"What has to be done TenTen. What did this man tell you?" Neji said.

"Eh? I told you that somehow this is supposed to show me the way to my soul mate." She said, she pulled out her flower to show him. He took the flower from her to analyze it closely.

"This is just a flower TenTen. There isn't any way this flower will solve our problems." He said. "Perhaps this means I am the catalyst for you and this soul mate meeting." Neji thought aloud.

TenTen moved to take the rose back and their finger tips connected. The rose closed its petals and disappeared in a bright flash of light. The rose was gone, but their pinky fingers were now tied together by string.

"What is this?!" Neji cried out in his new feminine voice.

"I-I don't know!" TenTen said just about ready to run away in surrender. Neji growled out whipping out a Kunai knife and quickly slicing at the thread. The knife passed right through it and still connected them.

"What are you doing Neji? Cutting air?" Hinata's body asked stupidly.

"No, you idiot. This string, I was trying to cut it." He said. Hinata's body looked between them and shook her head.

"What string aint nothing there!" He laughed out. Hinata's eyes widened at the disappearance of the rose. She took her own out and turned to her body.

"Na-Naruto-kun. W-Would you hold this flower?" She asked him. He eyed it and raised an eyebrow at her.

"A flower? Why?" He asked holding his hand out to grab it. His fingers touched hers and their flower vanished as well replaced by the pinky connecting threat.

"What the fuc-" Hinata tried to exclaim but was bonked on the head by Neji.

"Language like that does not leave Lady Hinata's mouth!" He yelled.

Both Naruto and Hinata's bodies flinched in pain at the blow.

"Th-That hurt N-neji-nii-san." Naruto's body rubbed its head in time with Hinata's.

"Oh god, Hinata-sama, you feel his pain now too?!" Neji yelled out. TenTen pulled him back from hitting either.

"Maa...Neji calm down. Violence won't solve anything." She said. She looked at him curiously. She looked at herself and pinched her arm harshly. Neji jumped.

"What are you hurting yourself for TenTen?" He yelled at her. She laughed sheepishly.

"Calm down Neji-kun, I was simply testing it out!" She said pushing her hands out in surrender. He fumed but remained silent.

"What the hell are we supposed to do now? I may be able to get away with going home if I keep constant use of a henge, but it seems you two have switched bodies completely." Neji said thinking aloud.

"Ne...Hinata-chan could just stay with me for a while!" Hinata's body said. "She might as well since we're stuck like these and feel the same pain and all that." He said.

"Absolutely not!" Neji said as Hinata nearly popped from the heat in her face.

"L-L-ive? W-With N-Naruto-kun?" She said blushing from head to toe. Neji shook his head again.

"Absolutely not! The clan would not allow Hinata-sama to be missed from the estate for so long." He bellowed. TenTen pinched herself again.

"Ite..TenTen please cease this pinching!" He cried out in exhaustion.

"Then it's settled Neji will stay with me and Naruto and Hinata-chan will stay together. We simply have a reconnaissance mission with an undefined time frame. I'm sure a henge can make it through that at least." TenTen suggested. Hinata blushed Naruto nodded happily and Neji continued to shake his head.

The four completed a henge and made their way to the Hyuuga compound to explain such to Hiashi.


End file.
